Forgetful Occurrences
by A Grain of Sand
Summary: What if Aang really did give up his love of Katara when he entered the avatar state in the caves under Ba Sing Se? Taang.


**Hi, so I had an idea for a story that might already be done tons of times, but I thought I'd run with it anyways. The first chapter is kind of a recap of first episode of Book 3, and I know that no one wants to read something thats already been written, but I've changed it a bit and you'll see why. Anyways here's the first chapter, ****I hope you like it.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

**Forgetful Occurrences**

Chapter One

I've got to get out. I can't stay here. How could I let myself get caught? I don't even remember…

I'm hobbling down the heated hallway, trying my hardest to run, but the pain… I can barely move an inch without wincing. I grip my staff for support and continue on as briskly as possible. My heart is in overdrive as I try to gage my strength, wondering whether or not I can fight soldiers or fly away in my condition. I come to an intersection in the hallways and pause, peeking around the corner.

"You hear something?"

I gasp and hide behind the corner. There are two soldiers guarding the hall ahead. My mind is reeling, but I can't pay heed to it, I need to get out, there are people counting on me. I inhale and turn the corner, blasting the strongest air current I could at the soldiers before I run the other way.

They shield themselves from the current before the big one yells, "He's awake!"

I speed up, leaning as much of my weight as I can on my staff.

"Stop, wait!" The large fire nation soldier called after me. There was definitely no chance I was going to stop for them. I reach an ascending staircase and pray that it leads out of this dank, festering hall.

I blasted the door open and am greeted by fresh air. I breathe in the air, before taking off, or, at least trying to take off. In my eagerness, I tripped trough the doorway and come crashing to the floor. _Stupid, stupid!_ My staff flies out of my hands and lands near two Fire Nation soldiers petting Momo… _Momo?_

"Momo?"

The soldiers let Momo scamper over to me, he chirps and licks my cheek. _What's going on?_

"Twinkle-Toes, that's got to be you!"

There are two familiar faces running towards me, but something is different about them. My flight reflex is gone, something's going on here, but I don't sense any danger any more. My pounding heart starts to slow down as I hear more soldiers surrounding me. I'm confused but my two friends; Toph and Katara have reached me, smiling. Whatever's going on, at least they're not hurt, in fact, they look great. My stomach flutters for a moment, I must be hungry, who knows the last time I ate.

"Aang you're awake!" Katara exclaims.

I look at everyone around, faces starting to make sense, but the setting is still lost on me. It's as if seeing a Sunghi horn but hearing the sound of drums when someone tries to play it, something is just…off.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes and regard Toph. A small smile forms on my lips despite myself, "Are you sure? I feel like I'm dreaming." I respond.

Toph gives me a quizzical look before Katara gives me a big hug before saying, "You're not dreaming, you're finally awake."

A fire nation soldier and hugs me, "Aang! Good to see you back with the living, buddy."

I faintly recognize the voice through the metal mask, "Sokka?"

The situation comes too much, all my senses feel like they're barraging me. Everything starts to meld together; colours, objects, faces, sounds, smells berate me and it becomes too much. I feel dizzy and my feet shift. I hear a voice through the madness, "Uh-oh! Somebody catch him, he's going to—" my feet give way.

* * *

"Ugh…" I slowly open my eyes and find that I'm still on the deck of the ship. I must've only been out for a few seconds.

I regard Katara who's sitting beside me. I feel more calm now that I've woken up to a familiar face and am able to voice some of my confusion, "Why are we on a fire nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one out of it?"

A look of worry crosses Katara's features as she replies, "You need to take it easy, you got hurt pretty bad."

My thoughts drift to the dull, throbbing pain in my back, _How did I get hurt?_

"I like your hair by the way."

_Wah? _ "I have hair?" I jerk my hands to my head and feel my scalp, there's a fuzziness that now resides there_. Oh man_, the monks would kill me if they knew about this.

A new thought gradually takes over my mind as I try to get used to my hair, "How long was I out?"

"A few weeks." _Weeks?

* * *

_

"Tell me where your pain feels most intense" Katara tells me as she drifts water around my back. I apparently need healing sessions, and though I would not normally turn down the chance for some alone time with Katara, right now I just want to catch up with the warfront and what the status of the Earth Kingdom is.

I grunted as Katara moved her hands to a particularly painful spot on my back, "A little higher."

She moves her hand higher and a wave of intense pain hits me. The pain brings back a memory so vivid it was as if it had just happened a second prior. I was in a cave and I had just entered the avatar state… "You're definitely in the right spot there,"

"I can feel a lot of energy twisted up around there, let me see if I can…" She tugs on something within me and the pain in my back increases ten-fold. I can feel it all, I can remember it all.

I was hit _by lightning_ while I was in the avatar state. My eyes widen as I remember the fight, "I went down! I didn't just get hurt did I? I died… you brought me back." I stared at Katara in shock.

"I just used the spirit water from the North Pole. I don't really know what I did." She said nervously.

"You saved me." I tell her resolutely.

Katara then did something that would normally send me into a blushing frenzy, she put her hand on my cheek and spoke to me in that gentle way that only she has ever spoken to me with. "You need some rest."

She left the room and I'm left to think on my cheek. The strange thing was that I didn't get that fuzzy feeling, somewhat akin to Appa's fur, that I usually get when she touches me… it still felt good, but it didn't feel special.

My hand drifts around my side as I seek out my wound. I wince when I feel just how bad it is, but I continue to probe. One of my fingers glide across a certain painful spot and I'm reminded of another memory. I was in a green crystal encasing, fire was pounding on the exterior walls of it as I drifted off into a meditative state. My mind left my body and I was in the night sky. My feet were resting on an aurora and I was running towards a large, ethereal form of myself. _I'm sorry Katara, I'm so sorry_, I told myself as I reached my destination. I leapt into the large hands of my other self and I was brought back to the world below in the avatar state.

I shake myself out of the memory and clunk my head against the headboard. I listen to the drips of the leaky hull for a minute in silence before Guru Pathik's slow, calm voice enters my head, "Meditate on what attaches you to this world," An image of Katara flashes through my mind and I see her as I usually do. I see her as someone more, as someone I not only love but who I'm in love with, as someone I want to spend every day of my life with. And a feeling of happiness and joy fills me at that sight. "Now, let all of those attachments go," The image of Katara starts to fade and the warm feeling I had always associated with her starts fade as well. "Let them flow down the river." It then starts to dawn on me just what I did in my desperation down in that cave under the palace. My latest vision starts to make sense to me, and melancholy stirs within me. _No, I can't lose this!_ I tell myself, but as I try to cling to my love for Katara the feeling continues to fade… I'm helpless. I start to realize that I can't will myself to love her, it doesn't work like that, and I can't lie to myself. Whatever happened down there is done and can't be changed. To save Katara I sacrificed a part of myself, I sacrificed my love for her. Guru Pathik's voice speaks that last word, the word that I had feared, and the word that I will always fear, "Forgotten."

I feel a tear slide down my cheek as I roll onto my side, "You're right Katara, I do need some rest." I say, knowing that she is long gone.

* * *

It's the evening now and I'm sitting on the cot in my room. Katara, Toph, and Sokka asked me if I wanted to go to dinner, but I didn't want to if I couldn't wear my arrow proud. Sokka had told me that the entire world now thinks I'm dead and that I can't show myself in public. So, I'm pretty much useless, without even considering the weakened state I'm in. We were attacked by two ships and nearly done in, but the sea monster of the Serpent's Pass saved us after the Fire Nation soldiers attacked it in fear. I had to watch my friends fight and risk their lives for me while I just watched on the sidelines like a coward. They could've died there for me, just like the air nomads, and I was going to let them. As long as I'm around my friends they're in danger now and I can't have that.

I grab my staff and head out of my room, intending to leave before they insist on coming with me.

I manage to make it topside without being seen by any of the water tribe warriors and I slowly sneak to the port side railing. The sun is starting to set beyond the horizon and the air is cooling, vivid pinks and yellows reflect off the shimmering water below, but it won't remain so peaceful for long, off to the West storm clouds churn and I have a feeling that they're heading this way. I take a deep breath and one last look back to see that I haven't been spotted before heading out. _Nope, just metal and Toph…ah crap._ I turn around fully and appraise the deadly earth bender. She's casually leaning against the main body of the ship, eating out of a bag of leechie nuts. My heart's beating like a jackhammer as I slowly make my way towards her, knowing that she's already spotted me.

"Um, hey Toph. How's it going?"

She slowly puts her bag of nuts down and gives me a menacing look, "Oh just _fine_ Twinkle-Toes. How are you? I mean it's pretty chilly out here, definitely not the place for someone as sick as you."

I rub the back of my neck nervously, "Uh yeah, I know I just thought that I'd, umm, check on Momo, you know?" I look around nervously, "He's been through a lot you know."

Toph gives me a look that says she doesn't buy it before lifting her arm. Momo comes down from some perch up above and lands on her elbow, happily chewing on a leechie nut. "No, I think he's fine."

_Aww phooey._ "Well, uhh, ok then." I feel a little lost before a thought crosses my mind, "Wait, why aren't you with Sokka and Katara? I thought you guys went to get something to eat?" I ask, hoping to shift attention away from my suspicious situation.

A dry smirk plays across her features, "I can sense your heartbeat you know, I'm aware of what you're trying to do." I curse myself as I realize how hard my heart is pumping. My head hangs in defeat before she continues, "I've seen that flighty look before—"

"No you haven't." I say before I can stop myself.

A small smile peaks as her face alights with mirth momentarily before responding, "Touche." But her expression turns stony once again as she gets serious, "But as I was saying, I've seen that flighty look before, on myself. When Sokka told you that you had to hide yourself from the world I was reminded of my parents and how they tried to hide me from the world. I recognized that look in your eyes because I used feel it all the time, that eagerness to break free and show the world who you are and what you're capable of. I know you and I knew you'd do something like this." Her cloudy green eyes look up in an attempt to make eye contact, something she rarely bothers herself with. Her eyes really are beautiful, but at the moment they are fogged with anger and something else, something I might call sadness had it not been Toph I was staring at.

I don't want to make Toph sad, I didn't know I could make Toph sad, but what I'm doing is not just to recover my honour that was lost in those caves under Ba Sing Se, I'm protecting the people I love.

A frown forms on my face, "I have reasons for doing this."

"Ok, fine! If you think that running away is going to solve anything I'm not going to stop you… but you know how I feel about running away." She cracks her knuckles menacingly.

"And just because I'm letting you go doesn't mean I'm going to impede on Katara's frantic search efforts either." She says slyly.

We face each other for a moment before I realize the time and that Sokka and Katara should be back soon. "Well, uh, bye Toph." I say nervously, feeling much more depressed than I should about leaving her.

I start to walk away, but not before she gives me her trademark slug on the arm, I smirk.

I was just about to fly off, snapping open my glider, when I hear her voice carrying with the wind, "Having a heavy heart doesn't suit such light feet, Twinkles."

I muster up a gust of wind and take off.


End file.
